For many small and midsized businesses (SMBs), managing IT starts out pretty simply. Someone in the office knows how to fix the Wi-Fi, another person is good with computers, and bigger problems are dealt with as they come up.
But as a business grows, that approach can become harder to manage. There are more employees, more devices, more software, and, unfortunately, more things that can go wrong. At that point, many business owners start asking the same question: Is it better to hire an IT person or outsource IT support to a managed services provider (MSP)?
Both can work well. The right choice really comes down to what your business needs and how you want to manage those needs as you grow.
The benefits of having in-house IT
One of the biggest advantages of an in-house IT team is that they know your business. An internal IT professional gets to learn your systems, your employees, and the way your company works. When a problem comes up, they already have some idea of what they're dealing with. They are also right there when something needs to be looked at in person.
You also have direct control over your IT team. You decide who you hire, what they work on, and which projects take priority.
The downside is that an internal IT person can only do so much. Most smaller businesses don't need a full team of specialists sitting in the office every day, but they may still need expertise in areas such as networks and data backups. Finding one person who is experienced in all of these areas can be difficult.
There is also the question of availability. If your only IT employee is on holiday or off sick, or they leave the company, you may suddenly find yourself without much of the knowledge your business relies on.
What changes when you outsource IT
When you outsource IT support to an MSP, you're not relying on one person to handle everything. Instead, you're working with a provider that has a wider team behind it. That can give your SMB access to a much broader range of experience.
From a budgeting perspective, outsourcing can change how your business pays for IT support. An in-house IT specialist can cost an average of $68,330 per year in base salary in California, before benefits and other employment costs. With an MSP, you pay for an agreed level of support rather than keeping a dedicated position, giving you more flexibility in how you allocate your IT budget.
Your service level agreement can also give you flexibility as your needs change. That can be especially useful as the company grows. If your business goes from 20 employees to 50, you may need more IT support. With an outsourced provider, increasing the level of service can be much simpler than starting another hiring process.
Does outsourcing mean giving up control?
Outsourcing does mean handing some day-to-day IT responsibilities to someone outside the business, but that doesn't mean giving up control altogether. You still decide what your business needs, what the provider manages, and how your systems should be handled. The key is making sure those expectations are clear from the start.
Before choosing an MSP, look at how quickly they respond to problems, when on-site support is available, and who can access your systems. Security should be part of that conversation too, particularly when the provider will have access to sensitive business information.
So, which one should you choose?
An in-house IT team can make sense if your business has complex systems, needs someone available on site, or has a large and active IT environment that requires dedicated, day-to-day support.
On the other hand, outsourcing can be a better fit if you want access to a wider range of expertise without taking on the cost of building a larger IT department. It can also be useful if your business is growing or you need support outside normal working hours.
And you don't necessarily have to choose one or the other. Some businesses keep an internal IT person to handle day-to-day technology needs while using an MSP for specialist work, cybersecurity, monitoring, or extra support when things get busy.
The real question isn't simply whether hiring or outsourcing is cheaper. It's whether you're getting the IT support your business needs without spending more time, money, or resources than necessary.
If you're weighing the pros and cons of in-house and outsourced IT support, you don't have to figure it out on your own. USWired works with SMBs to provide reliable IT support and guidance based on their needs. Get in touch with our team to see what approach makes sense for your business.
